Today I report on the current state of Sonic Unleashed. A new video was released about a level… Adabat. It’s a pretty shiny looking island area. And, as one astute forumer commented, the flute line on the night song for it appears to reference Rusty Ruins… from Sonic 3D Blast. Unlike the very fast levels we first saw, this one also features a little more platforming action, and it seems to have some new night level enemies.

It’s clear that, if nothing else, the game looks pretty, and the framerate seems fine in this level. It’s just up to Sonic Team to make sure it keeps up the progress so far… until then, we have plenty of nice videos to watch, at least. That, and…

Discuss on the forums!

The advancement of this game continues, with the new China level finally showing up for us here to see in depth. They’ve continued the pattern of spinning platforms and dragon pathways and added on some Chinese architecture to the fray, while at the same time throwing in a huge amount of enemies for Were Sonic to fight.

There’s also an instance where Were-Sonic howls (sort of weird feature) and one can see that the level is overcast. All in all, it has a little lag in places, but it seems to retain the quality expected so far. But of course, we can never know, having seen so many games which look good and then play horribly; though it seems to have had a better impact on people’s opinions than a previous video which showed the difficulties of a person at a convention trying to play through the first level.

Rather than continue talking and try to convince you, the reader, of the details, we have a nice convenient link to the highest quality version of the video we could find. Enjoy!

The game that many of us have been waiting for is nearing completion, and with it comes yet another game play video. This is one of the few videos which seem to be controlled by an average player rather than a developer or a previously programmed script.

The Video

…The video is a mixed bag; it gives us an idea of what the game will be like, but it also is not being played ‘optimally’, so we can’t immediately conclude what the actual experience is like. However, a few things stand out.

• The game is not entirely ‘hold right’ game play–Sonic must jump over obstacles and, in one case, even avoid spikes. Spikes he would hit if one did just hold the button.
• There is a strange, Omochao-like creature at the end. Its role is unknown, but it seems to be possible as a tutorial element.
• The game either has very easy to get S-ranks, or they’re still developing a ranking set. Sonic appears to see and react to the ranking.
• There are Eggman-like humanoids. A definite shift towards a cartoon-like version of our world?
• Speed and ease changes a lot between segments. This could lead to choppy game play if not properly bothered with.
• Finally, some people have pointed out some frame rate lag. I don’t exactly see it, but it isn’t surprising, considering how fast Sonic is going in places…

This video has split a lot of people over the game’s fate. It’s sure to be interesting to play when it comes out, though. And thanks to Ell678 of the forums for pointing out this video, which, in contrast to a previously linked video, doesn’t have people walking in front of it.

I’ll be following Sonic Unleashed up until it is released. Stay tuned.

The first episode of the Sonic Retro Podcast is available for download!

Here’s a little summary of what to expect from Episode 0 - Slamma Lamma Ding Dong!

• Community Hacking Project - We take a look at progress being made on Sonic AX and The S Factor.
• Main Topic - Naka’s Sonic vs. Oshima’s Sonic - The original Sonic the Hedgehog was a combined effort of Oshima (the creator of Sonic as a character) and Naka (the lead programmer of the game). However, Sonic 2 and Sonic CD was lead almost completely separate from each other. Each game was lead by Naka (Sonic 2) and Oshima (Sonic CD) with individual teams and visions of Sonic. We take an in-depth discussion on both styles and discuss where Sonic would be now had it taken the way of Sonic CD.
• Spam Mail Reading - All work and no play makes Tails a dull fox. It’s not all facts and hacks, right? So for the sake of humor we reach into our spam folders to pull out some emails that are funny, nonsensical, and even a little poetic.

I hope you all enjoy this first podcast. However, remember it’s pretty experimental and unpolished. The quality isn’t really top-notch and we did this spur-of-the-moment around 4 AM. By all means though, give us feed back so we can make the show better.

 

 Sonic Retro Podcast - 0 - Slamma Lamma Ding Dong [63:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1053)